


Things Aren't Like They Were Back Then

by ryoukootonashi



Category: DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics), Young Justice (Comics)
Genre: Ear Piercings, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, but like... he got better, no beta we die like robins, only a little angst but like.. some, reference to past character death, teen rating is just for some language, the inherent intimacy of late night shenanigans with your best friend, this is just dumb and fluffy but hopefully also cute?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:26:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28889832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryoukootonashi/pseuds/ryoukootonashi
Summary: Only one person, though, was likely to be outside Tim’s door at 3am.And whenever Kon has a problem, there's only one person he thinks to go to.
Relationships: Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent
Comments: 19
Kudos: 169





	Things Aren't Like They Were Back Then

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from ‘Love at First Sight’ by The Front Bottoms (it gives me timkon thoughts... theres a lot of lines in that song that remind me of them) 
> 
> this is set pre new 52 but like after red robin, sometime relatively soon after tim had rejoined the titans (but also like after the actual teen titans comic ended) um but also canon fake my city now!!! (yet this is ~relatively~ canon compliant unless im remembering shit wrong which is very possible) probably a little ooc i dont know man i am just laying down vibes this was mostly written at 4am! i dont write that much, im more of a visual artist. i might update this with some illustrations at some point?? we’ll see. these two just live in my brain rent free u feel me 
> 
> also sorry i use 'kon' and 'conner' very interchangeably here

Someone was outside the door.

Tim had enough alarms set up in this building that he knew the moment they walked in range. Or as the case may be, _floated, w_ hich did narrow down who it could be. Not as much as the average person might expect, however, Titans Tower was certainly far from an average place.

Only one person, though, was likely to be outside Tim’s door at 3am.

“Door’s open, dude,” He tried not to be too loud, since waking up others down the hall would be kinda rude. Just because he’s a night owl (Maybe that could be his new hero name, it’s further from Robin than _Red Robin_ is at least) it doesn’t mean he should keep anyone else up.

Conner didn’t hesitate once he was acknowledged, pushing open the door and sliding in. He touched down on the floor as he closed it gently behind him with his TTK.

“I need your help,”

“What’s wrong?” Tim closed his laptop, he hadn’t been working on anything _that_ important, just a mission report for his own logs, “Do I need to put my mask on?” The subtle way of determining if this was a personal crisis or hero business.

Conner stepped closer, “No, no, nothing’s _wrong_ ,” He flopped down on his back next to Tim, making the whole bed bounce, “Just... Okay, you’re gonna think it’s stupid, but hear me out,”

“You? Wanting to say something stupid?” Tim widened his eyes, and brought a hand to his open mouth feigning shock, “Never!”

“I hate you,” Kon groaned, covering his eyes with his hands, “Maybe I should have gone to Bart instead,”

_Ouch._

“Okay, sorry,” Tim set his laptop to the side and leaned back next to Kon, shifting onto his side to look right at him, “I’m listening.”

Kon mirrored the position, and let out a deep sigh before actually speaking, “Do you have like, any small pieces of kryptonite? Something like a needle maybe?”

The look of surprise on Tim’s face was _real_ this time, “I mean... maybe, why?”

Conner moved fully onto his back again, looking up at the ceiling, his hands clasped over his chest, “I wanna re-pierce my ear.”

“Oh, huh,” Kon had dropped the punk persona from his early days as Superboy back when they first joined the Titans, years ago. More often than not Conner _made fun of_ the way he used to dress, or at least he laughed along when others did, this felt a little out of left field. “For any reason in particular?”

He kept his gaze fixed on the grooved pattern above, organizing his thoughts, “Just been thinking about me, and being the me _I_ want to be,” He paused, “Not just what I think I _should_ be to blend in, or what anyone _else_ thinks I should be,”

Tim nodded, understanding the sentiment. He’d been thrust from expectations as his parents’ heir, to expectations as Robin, directly into needing to figure out who he was going to be _outside_ of all that a little prematurely. Maybe if he’d done some of that thinking beforehand the transition would have been easier. Also if everyone he loved hadn’t been dead at the time, that would have helped a lot too.

“I’m not Clark, and I’m definitely not Lex,” He shuddered at the mere thought, “I may have been kinda an ass as The Metropolis Kid, but I felt more like my own _person_ then, I guess, I want a little of that back,”

“Oh, you were absolutely an ass,”

“Shut up,” Kon finally turned back to him, catching his smirk, “You were a fuckin' _robot_ when I first met you, you don’t get to judge,”

“Yeah, yeah, but then I got a heart, you got a brain, and Bart got courage,” Tim let that mental image sink in, “Does that make Cassie our Dorothy?”

“Krypto could be Toto,” They were off topic, but it was making Kon grin, “Oh, we’re totally doing that for Halloween this year,”

“I’m down for that,” Tim’s expression matched his own, but he tried to veer back to their actual conversation, “So when do you wanna do this?” He reached out a hand towards Conner’s ear, the one closest to him had been the one pierced back in the day if he remembered correctly. He didn’t even feel a bump or a scar or anything, just smooth, unmarred, skin.

“If possible, like, now?” Kon noticed the way Tim’s fingers brushed over the same small space on his ear again and again, as if searching for something that wasn’t there, “The hole completely healed up a while back, in case you were wondering,” The ~~former~~ Boy Wonder was _always_ wondering, “And I’m a lot more invulnerable than I used to be, which is why I need someone else to do it, with kryptonite,” He met Tim’s eyes again, severing the physical contact but making up for it through his gaze, “Someone I trust.”

It made Tim feel warm on the inside. His face was probably flushed on the outside too, just at the thought of that level of trust. Possessing kryptonite for a hypothetical emergency that may never happen is one thing, but having Kon _ask_ for Tim to actually _use it_ on him, that felt heavier. It meant more, and that made Tim's heart race. 

He smiled, “Let’s see what I’ve got,”

* * *

“Is that good?” Tim gently pushed Kon’s face to the side, bringing his ear into view in the mirror. A little black X in pen marked the spot to pierce, he’d had to approximate placement since using the original as a guide wasn’t an option.

Kon leaned forward, “Yeah, I think so,” He dug out a little silver stud earring from his pocket that _technically_ belonged to Cassie. She’d left it in his room back when they were still together, but after she lost its match she’d just forgotten all about it. The small, shiny thing was a big part of what brought all this _thinking_ on.

Kon found it with a few of her other things while cleaning his room a few weeks prior, and he'd set it down on his desk to deal with later. It then sat there, just catching the light every so often, grasping his attention at odd hours. He could give it back, but he knew she didn’t really _want_ it anymore. He could throw it away, but why? It wasn't broken or anything, it was perfectly fine on its own. It eventually dawned on him that if he hadn’t ditched his piercing years ago, he’d have already started wearing it around himself.

And then he really thought about _why_ he had taken his out in the first place, to blend in more. To become the civilian Conner Kent he sometimes was, to have a more normal, grounded life outside the superhero-ing. He’d cut his hair, taken out the piercing, switched sunglasses for clear lenses, leather jackets for flannel shirts, and assimilated to Smallville’s norms.

He became the spitting image of, well, Clark.

But he _wasn’t_ Clark. He respected him, loved him like the family he was, but he didn’t want to _be_ him. In trying so hard to fit in, he’d sacrificed things that made him feel like his own person. And for a clone? Feeling like an individual was already hard enough.

He still lived with the Kents, he still needed to be a part of that world, but he could have one little thing back, right? The single shiny earring had taunted him until he broke, and _needed_ to do something.

But he came to an obvious dilemma: the original piercing hole was completely healed and there was only one sure way to break his skin these days.

And whenever Kon has a problem, there's only one person he thinks to go to.

“Okay, I’m gonna take it out of the case now, you ready?” Tim ended up having access to the perfect thing, one of the syringes Batman had made in case they needed to give antidotes or any other injections to Kryptonians on a team. The one the Titans had been gifted was kept in his room already, stored in a small lead box with a kryptonite ring, in case of _other_ Kryptonian emergencies.

Conner nodded, and braced himself for the nausea. He sat down on Tim’s desk chair they’d brought into the small bathroom, and tightened his grip on the seat. Not quite enough to break it, but enough to hear the wood creak.

“I’ll be as quick as I can,” Tim whispered, more to himself than Kon, as he unlatched the small lead box. The sickness came on quickly, but luckily wasn’t _too_ strong, since it was such a small amount of the toxic rock.

Tim worked fast, lining up the needle with his mark and pressing it through, it was a little awkward the way he had to bend down, and using the syringe in such a different way than it was built for, but he was able to make it work. Conner looked pale, and winced as it broke skin, but he managed to stay sitting up and barely made a sound.

Once it was all the way through, Tim took the stud from the counter. He pulled out the needle and swiftly replaced it with the metal piece. When he was sure it was securely in place, he returned the syringe to its container, and the cloud of nausea and faintness began to clear for Conner.

“Not too bad?” Tim stepped away to pack the lead container into his utility belt where it lay draped over a towel hook.

“Well, you didn’t kill me, so it could've gone far worse,” Kon grinned, before getting up on ever-so-slightly shaky legs to examine his reflection. 

It looked _perfect_. It wasn’t as flashy as the hoop he used to wear, which was good. He _wasn’t_ the same kid he used to be, he’d grown up, despite how impossible a feat that had seemed back then. But that didn’t mean he had to erase every trace of that old version of himself. The simple earring accomplished that, a reminder of the past while embracing who he was now.

“No matter how many times I might threaten to kill you,” Tim sat down in the chair and watched Kon’s smile grow brighter the longer he looked at his new reflection, “I could never actually do it. I’ve had to live without you before,” He paused, his voice catching in his throat, “It sucks. Never wanna do that again,”

Kon turned, briefly catching the way Tim had been staring before he darted his eyes away. Conner wedged his way onto the chair, nearly pushing Tim off of it.

“I’m not going anywhere, promise,” He put an arm around him, somewhere between a hug and just a way to keep him from falling off, but Tim just melted into it. Sometimes the way Tim held onto him made it seem he was afraid Conner would just slip away any moment, but in this moment he seemed to just enjoy the security of being held. But no matter how much time passes since he came back, the damage his death had done was always going to be there. 

Maybe that was _also_ part of what brought this whole line of thinking on. After coming back he’d felt more than a little lost. A healthy dose of personal crisis from all the self reflection was inevitable. Time had gone on without him, people grew and evolved, hell, _Tim_ had changed so much. Not only in hero identity and appearance, but in more subtle ways too. His eyes were still bright, but a weariness hung over them more often than before, his smiles just a bit more tired, a bit more forced. His guard up more often than before, especially around big groups of people he used to confidently call friends.

Moments like this though, with just the two of them alone, it almost felt like before all that. When Tim was even smaller, and hadn’t started to crack under the weight of the world quite yet. It helped Conner feel more like himself, because Tim could always see the truest version of him, no matter how he looked on the outside.

That's why Conner had thought Tim would say this whole thing was stupid. He already saw Kon for who he was, why would he _need_ another thing to set him apart?

“I have to ask,” Tim cut through the peaceful silence, his head still resting on Conner’s shoulder, “Are you gonna start wearing the leather jacket and constantly picking fights with me in the field again, too?”

“Did I ever _stop_ picking fights?” Kon laughed. Tim picked his head up and abruptly turned it to him, while reaching a hand out to grab at his jaw forcing them to meet eye to eye.

“Just because I won’t kill you, doesn’t mean I won’t make you suffer, _clone boy_ ,” He tried to hiss out, but the slight twitch of his lips made it clear he was fighting back a smile, “Remember there is kryptonite _in this very room_ ,”

Kon was just frozen in place, surprised by the sudden touch on his face, the teasing words not really sinking in. His main thoughts just consisted of things like _‘Wow, Tim really does have pretty eyes_ , _when they’re not under a dumb mask,’_ and _‘Huh, his lips look really soft_ , _bet they’d be nice to kiss,'_ and ‘ _When did he get that close_? _What would he do if I leaned in just a little more?’_ This wasn’t the first time his brain turned to mush like this, but normally Tim wasn’t _right there_ , only inches away, when it happened.

Eventually, Tim noticed that Superboy.exe had stopped responding, and he pulled his hand away, but his face remained just as close, twisted into concern.

“You okay? I was joking about the kryptonite thing-“

Maybe it was having the earring again that gave Conner that confidence he always used to have with this type of thing.

He cut Tim off by closing the distance between them, pressing their lips together.

Which Tim was absolutely _not_ expecting, his body jerked in surprise, which messed with their already precarious balance and sent the chair toppling back. As they fell he just grabbed onto Conner, not letting their contact break as he started kissing back.

After landing, they needed to pull apart to breathe, “You do know you can fly, right?” Tim laughed, his cheeks red and his heart light.

“I was a little distracted,” Kon couldn’t stop staring up at Tim, he was practically _on top_ of him the way they landed, “I’m gonna take the fact that you haven’t whipped out the Kryptonite yet as you being okay with me doing that?”

His brain was a little too busy starting to process the situation to actually form _words_ , so Tim just took the initiative this time, and leaned down for another gentle kiss.

* * *

“You’re not supposed to touch it that much,” Tim looked over at where Conner sat next to him on the bed, his fingers absentmindedly twisting the new metal in his ear.

He had insisted on being the one to carry Tim’s chair back to his room, and was lingering around, chatting about the little things. But not the fact that they just kissed, _twice_ , that still hadn’t come up yet.

“Thats for like, normal people,” Kon scoffed, “It’s pretty much healed the way it’s supposed to already,” _Right_ , accelerated healing.

“Fair,” Tim conceded, before yawning. He glanced at the time on his laptop screen, it was already 4:15. Luckily there wasn’t too much planned for the morning, Sundays at the tower were often a little slower than Saturdays. Training later in the day, being ready for any emergencies like always, but nothing too major.

Kryptonians apparently _aren’t_ immune to the contagious act of yawning, which makes Tim smirk, “Tired?” He’s plenty used to late nights, living in Gotham will do that to you, but Kon usually got more sleep than this.

“A little,” He shrugged, and shifted so that he was laying down, head rested on a pillow, “Aren’t you?”

Tim went back to typing, he’d returned to the mission report he was working on back when Kon originally interrupted him over an hour ago, “I guess,” Even though it wasn’t really time sensitive, he did want to get it done before passing out.

Kon didn’t know that and also didn’t really _care_ , he reached a hand out and closed Tim’s laptop, “You work too much, dude,” Tim rolled his eyes, but before he could re-open it, his computer was floating out of reach. _Goddamn TTK._

“I _guess_ I can finish tomorrow,” He groaned, but his eyes did feel kinda heavy, sleeping was probably a good idea, “Be careful with that,” He watched as it landed on his desk, a little more roughly than he’d have preferred.

“Psh, it’s fine,”

“It better be,” Tim leaned back, letting his head hit the pillow, and turned to face his best friend. He stared into his eyes, a pretty blue that was somehow so different from his own, the shade almost _alien_ , for lack of a better term, “So,”

Kon was staring right back, with a lazy smile that matched his soft gaze, “So?”

Tim didn’t know exactly how to bring this up. The kissing earlier. It had felt so... natural, in a way. They’d never done it before, but it felt like they had a hundred times and would a hundred more. Like it was just the logical progression of everything between them.

He had thought about kissing Conner before. A lot, actually. More times than he’d ever admit. It was something he’d pushed away for a long time, afraid of ruining their friendship by crossing an unspoken boundary. Besides, Kon had been busy with Cassie, and Tim with Tam, or Steph, ~~or _also_ Cassie when Kon was gone~~, where would something between the two of them have fit into all of that? So he buried it away, the longing he’d built up over the years, locked it into a little box and shoved it to the back of his mind.

Kon taking that leap and suddenly kissing him wasn’t just the key to unlocking that box, it was like taking a sledgehammer and breaking it open, setting everything free with urgency. The only thing that's kept Tim from bringing it up, actually addressing what just happened, is the fear that it was a fluke, some heat of the moment thing that Conner would regret. That he’d have to get a whole new (far more heavily reinforced) box to shove it all away into again.

“Tim?” He’d been so lost in thought it was apparently noticeable. Conner reached out and brushed a hand across his cheek, Tim’s pretty sure he stopped breathing for a second.

“Yeah?” He managed to choke out.

“Can I stay?” He slid his hand down from his cheek to his neck, resting there gently, “In here, tonight, I mean,”

Well, unless Tim’s detective skills have really gone downhill, that seemed like a pretty clear sign the kissing _wasn’t_ just a random thing.

Tim shifted a little closer, “Yeah, absolutely,”

Conner closed the space between them, bringing their lips together again, just for a moment before pulling away, “This... This is okay, right?”

It dawned on Tim that he didn't actually use his words _at all_ last time. Was... Conner concerned about this being real too?

“Yes,” He nodded, “Very okay,” He rested his forehead against Kon's, and smiled, " _More than_ okay."

There were still things to talk about, a lot to figure out. But it was clear that for that moment the only thing they _needed_ to do was fall asleep in each other's arms.

**Author's Note:**

> back in highschool i helped my friend pierce their septum in a school bathroom and i just think that theres a certain level of intimacy associated with the act of being trusted to pierce another person even when you don't really know what you're doing
> 
> that being said PLEASE do not pierce your friends without knowing what you’re doing oh my god do not do it do not do not!!!!!!!!!! we were very stupid for doing that!!!!! (kon and tim are special here because kon is fuckin invulnerable but YOU, A REAL HUMAN PERSON, ARE NOT)
> 
> anyways thank u for reading this if u did ily umm comments n feedback n stuff make me cry (in a good, happy way) also feel free to talk to me places im @therealryouko on twitter / junkoandthediamonds on tumblr!


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